Let's Build Resiliency from the Roots Up
🌲 The Plant Cunning Conference is a 3-day in-person event featuring speakers, workshops, plant walks, artists, and live music to build community and resiliency with people wise to the ways of Nature at the beautiful Cohosh Creek Herb Farm and Sanctuary in Central New York.
Save the date for July 24-26th, 2026! We have an incredible line up of mostly NorthEast based herbalists, authors, bee-keepers, healers and teachers.
2026 Conference Featuring
The speakers at the 2026 Plant Cunning Conference are some of the most inspiring thought leaders, authors, herbalist, astrologers and community leaders of our time. What a gift to have direct access to these incredible teachers in-person, especially in an age of Ai 'experts' and lots of unreliable information on the internet.
Our key-note speaker is, herbalist, author, artist and Druid- Dana O'Driscoll of a The Druids Garden. We are honored to have herbalist, botanist and educator 7Song of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, as well as herbalist, author, teacher Tammi Sweet of Heart-Stone Herbals in Ithaca NY and Kate Gilday founder and herbalist at the high quality handmade herbal product line Woodland Essence in the Adirondacks, NY, as well as many others- check out the list.
Dana O'Driscoll
Dana O’Driscoll is a wild woman of the Allegheny mountains, hanging out with mushrooms, swimming in forest streams, and getting covered in soil. Sheis the co-founder of the Pennsylvania School of Herbalism (www.paherbschool.com), an herbal school focusing teaching holistic herbalism and regional healing plants with a strong emphasis in reciprocation and stewardship. Dana has been an animist druid for 20 years, and currently serves as Grand Archdruid in the Ancient Order of Druids in America (aoda.org). She is also a druid-grade member of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids and is the OBOD’s 2018 Mount Haemus Scholar. She is the author of numerous nature spirituality books including EcoSpirituality in the 21st Century, Land Healing, and Sacred Actions: Living the Wheel of the Year through Earth-Centered Spiritual Practices. She is also a whimsical nature artist and is the author/illustrator of the Tarot of Trees, Plant Spirit Oracle, and TreeLore Oracle and Magical Compendium of Eastern North American Trees. Dana is a certified permaculture designer and permaculture teacher who works to live regeneratively and heal the land. Dana lives at a 5-acre homestead in rural western Pennsylvania with her partner and a host of feathered and furred friends. She writes at the Druids Garden (www.thedruidsgarden.com) and is on Instagram as @druidsgardenart.
7Song
When 7Song was a wee lad in the barren lands of suburban Long Island, New York, he thought about many things, but mainly, about reptiles and amphibians. His favorite time of the year was during his father's 2-week vacation when the family of 6 would rent a cabin in an Eastern State Park. Once there, he would find a friendly ranger whom he would pester with endless questions about the surrounding nature. And hopefully find a frog, salamander, or turtle. Teenagering was a much more complex time, when thoughts of nature were sequestered far in the background amid the struggles to survive the social milieu. But with nascent hippiehood, this fascination began to emerge again. He hitchhiked his way around the US and ended up at the 1982 Oregon Country Faire. While there, he spotted the California School of Herbal Studies booth, where the people, photos, and work-trade opportunity captured his attention. He seized the moment, hitchhiked to Forestville, CA, and began his second immersion into the world of plants.
And since that time, he has spent countless hours walking through various environments, keying out plants, studying, teaching, and practicing herbal medicine. He (meaning me) has been amazed how herbal medicine has become so much more popular in mainstream US society. Not all of it is good, mind you, but the re-emergence of plants as medicine brings some sense of gratitude into this wizened herbalist's thoughts. 7Song is also the director of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, one of the premier in-person herb schools in the states and the Herbalist at the Ithaca Free Clinic.
Richard Mandlebaum
Richard Mandelbaum RH (he, him) is a clinical herbalist and teacher of botany and herbal medicine, with a private practice in the Southern Catskills, NY. In addition to seeing clients he teaches classes in clinical herbal medicine, medicine making, and field botany, wild edible plants and mushrooms. He is a founding partner and former director (2012-2022) of the ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism, where he currently serves as core faculty, and is also on the faculty at David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies. He also teaches botany and phytochemistry at the Won Institute of Graduate Studies. In 2018 Richard was featured in the docu-series Remedy, Ancient Medicine for Modern Illness. Richard has been an avid student of our native flora for over twenty five years. He has been practicing as an herbalist since 1997, blending use of our native medicinal plants with Chinese and Western herbal traditions. He is a graduate of David Winston’s School of Herbal Therapeutics in New Jersey as well as having studied at Rosemary Gladstar’s Sage Mountain Retreat Center in Vermont, and in New York City with herbalist William LeSassier. He has been a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild since 2003, and served on the AHG Council (board of directors) from 2012 to 2018. Richard is also active in issues related to fair trade, sustainability, and social justice. As of 2025 he is co-coordinator of the Catskills / Hudson Valley chapter of Herbalists Without Borders.
Amelia South
Amelia South is a Practicing Herbalist, Foraging Instructor, Gut Health Specialist,and Subconscious Reprogramming Coach from Connecticut. She healed her own candida and rosacea and was trained in how to heal her inner child and rewire her negative subconscious beliefs after a severe mental breakdown in 2021. She now helps others through her books Think Like an Herbalist and Uncovering Amy as well as private coaching and speaking engagements.
Her class for the conference is, The Gut–Brain Connection & Disorders of the Mind: Addressing the Root Cause. The gut and brain are not separate systems—they are partners in shaping our thoughts, emotions, and overall mental health. In this talk, we’ll explore how imbalances in the gut microbiome can drive anxiety, depression, brain fog, and IBS. We’ll cover practical nutritional and herbal tools for gut healing, while also examining why true mental and emotional healing often stalls when we ignore subconscious beliefs and learned behavioral patterns. When we address both the gut and the inner landscape, real and lasting change becomes possible.
Check out our episode with Amelia on the Plant Cunning Podcast Episode 218.
Alyssia Mazzella
Alysia Mazzella is a beeswax candlemaker, seasonal gardener and biomimicry beekeeper based in Central New York. She is the co-founder of BACKLAND NY, an education apiary that models how to rewild a small-scale apiary through biomimicry and adaptation. Learn more at backland.org. Alysia will share about her sustainable and accessible small-scale apiary in direct comparison to the buy-treat-feed loop of conventional beekeeping. Together, we will explore (1) the holistic habitat needed for a healthy population of pollinators, (2) swarm baiting to source resilient and adapted bees genetics, (3) the components of mimicking natural tree hives, and (4) a reciprocal human-bee-land relationship. Folks will leave with an understanding of how to nurture biodiverse ecosystem that supports healthy bee populations, with the bonus of sometimes harvesting honeycomb. Ideal for beginner and seasoned land stewards in the U.S. Northeast who are interested in centering the wild intelligence of natural cycles.
Lisa Fazio
Lisa Fazio is an Irish/Italian American folkloric witch, heretic, herbalist, astrologer, and una donna che aiutana (one who helps). Her primary focus is ancestral revival and remembrance within the Italian American diaspora. She practices the Folk Catholic and animistic traditions of her Italian ancestors who were the original people of Calabria; the Brutti people, and Benevento; the Samnite people. She is a mother of 4 children and Nonna to 2 grandchildren. She is the author of “Della Medicina: The Traditions of Italian American Folk Healing” to be released October 2024. This is her third time speaking at the Plant Cunning Conference as her classes have been highly requested.
Kate Gilday
Cherished herbalist elder, teacher, plant steward, practitioner and creator of the incredibly high quality and extensive product line, Herbal Essences, Kate Gilday is an inspiration and expert in her field. Kate weaves her experiences as a clinical herbalist with her past Ayurvedic training at Kripalu into crafting the formulas Woodland Essence is known for.
At Woodland Essence, they offer Herbal Extracts, Cremes, Salves handcrafted with love in small batches along with a line of Forest Flower Essences of the Northeast that hold the vibration of the Forest, along with the individual nature of each tree, shrub, and forest flower shared. We are honored to have her back at the Plant Cunning Conference to teach an interactive class on how to make Flower Essences with intention. Her products will be available in the vending area as well.
ZamboniFunk
ZamboniFunk is an astrologer, musician, and teacher whose work blends cosmic timing with practical magic. Known for his rigorous but relatable approach to reading astrology, he helps people understand the context of their lives and offers tools for staying in sync with the moment. Via readings, courses, electional astrology, and original music, Zamboni helps us stay centered in harmony with cosmic rhythm. Across his work, he treats rhythm and timing as tools for understanding and effectively navigating change. He appears regularly on the Plant Cunning Podcast, offering quarterly astrological forecasts, and has spoken at conferences and events across the country. zambonifunk.com/
Tammi Sweet
Tammi Sweet loves to teach. It’s her superpower. She has a magical ability to connect with almost anyone when teaching and help them understand complex material. For over 35 years, Tammi has shared her gift of teaching at various colleges, massage schools and herbal schools throughout the country. Her background in physiology makes her an invaluable resource to developing herbalists and massage therapists alike, who want to deepen their foundation as practitioners. In addition to her physiology expertise, Tammi is also a practitioner and teacher of herbal medicine. In 2007, she and her partner Kris Miller launched the Heartstone Center for Earth Essentials. At Heartstone, Tammi and Kris run their Herbal Apprenticeship. Tammi also offers online courses that integrate physiology and plant medicine with Tammi’s love of teaching, such as her signature course Anatomy & Physiology for Herbalists.
We are thrilled to have Tammi at the Plant Cunning conference as a teacher (she's teaching two sessions with us!) and as a vendor offering her high quality, home grown herbal remedies.
Tere Marie Martini
Tere (pronounced TREE) is a holistic reproductive health educator, astrologer, plant keeper with a background in Organic farming, folk herbalist, and somatic embodiment facilitator. With an insane passion for helping women and folx liberate themselves into their most delicious, deeply satisfying, purpose filled lives she helps people find eroticism, magick, and mystery in the mundane. She frames this work through the wisdom of archetypal cycles, or, what she calls the 4 P’s: Planets, Plants, Pussy and Personal Agency. She's been a space holder and circle facilitator for close to 15 years, a decade, as a doula, somatic movement facilitator, holistic reproductive health practitioner, astrologer, and ceremonialist. Tere hosts 'Dance Floor Church' in-person in Liverpool, NY where participants access a flow state through somatic movements in an intentional space. She also facilitates gatherings such as The Intentional Feminine (Sep 11-13th, 2026) and the Untethered Retreat (Aug 24-28th, 2026) and offers one-to-one consultations and astrology readings. At the conference this year, she is leading a Dance Floor Church experience for us Sunday morning.
Gert Coleman
Herbal educator, writer, gardener, editor, and herb enthusiast, Gert Coleman loves, grows, eats, and reads avidly about herbs. Retired professor of English, she lives on 100+ acres in Central New York, growing herbs, flowers, trees, and at-risk native plants with her husband and dog. As an herbal educator, she has taught humorous and informative programs for all ages at parks, museums, and conferences; helped maintain a 70' x 70' colonial herb garden for 3 decades; apprenticed with Rosemary Gladstar; compiled and edited five Herb of the Year™ books via the International Herb Association (IHA); and writes about the legends, lore, and poetry of herbs. In addition, she teaches workshops on nature writing in the wild places of New York and beyond. This year at the Plant Cunning Conference Gert is sharing a deep dive into Turmeric, Curcuma longa.
Olga Tzogas
Olga has been foraging mushrooms and plants for food and medicine for many years, and started Rochester, NY based Smugtown Mushrooms in 2011 offering up fresh fungi, extracts, educational events, & fungi tours. Smugtown offers mushroom grow kits, high quality mushroom extracts, dried mushrooms, books, and more. Olga offers engaging classes like cooking classes with mushrooms and fungi walks to bring the love of mushrooms to the people. She's one of the instigators of the New Moon Mycology Summit a fantastic event happening Sept 12-14, 2026. Olga also leads small groups of earth lovers to her homeland of Greece in the Spring and Fall seasons to forage mushrooms, herbs and learn the sacred ecology of the Eastern Mediterraean. These trips are such a magical experience, check them out at SmugtownMushrooms.com.
Isaac Hill
Isaac is an astrologer, gardener, esotericist, and co-host of the Plant Cunning Podcast. He studies and practices in the Acyutananda Das tradition of Vedic astrology with his teachers Freedom Cole and Pandit Sanjay Rath, and has also studied traditional Western astrology with Chris Warnock. He is a permaculturist with over a decade of experience gardening and cultivating a native plant nursery, receiving his Permaculture Design Certificate in 2012 with Darrell Frey. He's the primary gardener and grounds keeper of Cohosh Creek Herb Farm where he's planted hundreds of fruit & nut trees, shrubs, blueberries, perennial vegetables, native plants, greens, flowers, medicinal herbs and fungi and some veggies. He is the author of "The Heathen Golden Dawn: A Complete Course in Ceremonial Magic", and "The Zodiac Garden Guide: A Handbook of Astrological Gardening". He's also a song writer, singer, and musician, leading in the Hills and the Rivers.
Isaac will lead a garden tour for one the plant walk sessions to discuss some of the garden design elements as well as highlighting some of the incredible plants he nurtures at the farm.
Alexandra Wendt
Alexandra Wendt has a private practice called, The Flora Grimoire and offers her gifts as a professional Astrologer, Earth Medicine Person, Ecstatic Dance teacher, and Psychic Herbalist. She is also a Clairvoyant voice reader and has been singing for over 25 years. She has studied directly with Tyler Penor of the School of Living Astrology, Asia Suler of One Willow Apothecaries, Emily Hamilton of Earth Speak, and Jeffrey Boehme of the Spiritual Science Society. She works as a medicinal herb farmer at Healing Spirits in Avoca, NY and lives with her Visionary Arts partner, Stefan Lucas Allen and their cat, Rowley. Together they practice the Cobra Breath and support the collective with their teaching skills & creations. Alexandra will be hosting Weaving Waters Freeform Movement, freeform dance space that incorporates Ecstatic Dance & vocal opening, on Friday evening in the Big Barn. Feel free to approach her at The Flora Grimoire vending tent at the conference or on Instagram for inquiries about session work. Learn more about Alexandra through her Instagram page, @thefloragrimoire and through @waxingwaters where she co-host dances with Liv Sun.
AC Hill
AC Hill (formerly Stauble) is an herbalist, herb farmer, teacher and adventurer. She grows herbs and creates small batch, high quality remedies to offer her community and sells at the Cooperstown NY Farmers Market under the name Traveling Herb Farmer every Saturday. She's passionate about sharing her herbs and the things she's learned along the way. AC loves leading plant walks and teaching hands-on workshops locally in Central NY and also conducting online classes which are unique in their live and lively, interactive and interesting nature. She's the co-director of the Actaea Institute of Herbal Medicine and Aromatherapy, with Gabriel Mojay, which offers short online classes, a monthly guest lecture series featuring inspiring experts in herbal medicine, and a full Diploma Program in Herbal Medicine and Aromatherapy. The Diploma students meet online for classes each Sunday for 8 months with interactive, participatory sessions which keep students engaged and excited to show up week after week.
When AC is not in the apothecary or garden, find her in community lending a hand, singing around a fire, or on some far away adventure.
Gabriel Mojay
Gabriel began his natural healing journey in 1977 in Paris when he discovered Macrobiotics and the Yin-Yang energetics of food. Living in England, he later qualified in, practiced, and co-wrote a textbook on Shiatsu — a type of Japanese acupressure closely connected to Macrobiotics. From 1984 he spent 4 years studying traditional Chinese Acupuncture together with Chinese and Western Herbs including Essential Oils. From 1990-2020 he was Principal of the Institute of Traditional Herbal Medicine & Aromatherapy (ITHMA), London, and has given seminars in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Mexico, UK, and in the USA. He specializes in a Chinese medicine energetic-diagnostic approach to Herbalism and Essential Oils, and is author of Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit (for sale at the Conference). At the same time, he has 4 decades of experience of giving Astrological readings, and has taught an Astrological approach to Aromatherapy since 1996, both live and online. Based in California since 2022, Gabriel is Co-Director together with AC Hill of the Actaea Institute of Herbal Medicine and Aromatherapy. actaea.org
Lauren Eadline
Lauren Eadline is a consulting medical provider, clinical herbalist and plant medicine educator in Central New York. She serves as the integrative member of the Lyme & Tick Borne Disease team at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY and maintains a small medical practice in Homer, NY where she specializes in complex medical conditions, gender and reproductive care, and herbal & nutritional medicine. About 75% of her practice relates to hypermobile conditions and their comorbidities. She is also the founder and director of Syracuse Herbal Study Group, a collective in the CNY area focused on accessible education in herbal medicine, community health empowerment and mutual aid initiatives. She is a board-certified Advanced Practice Holistic Nurse (APHN), a registered member of the American Herbalist Guild and has spoken at conferences nationwide on topics in botanical medicine and complex disease. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate is SUNY Upstate and her first book, the Herbal Diagnostic Handbook, is set for publication through Storey Publishing in early 2027. Lauren lives in Homer, NY with her family. To connect with Lauren or her private practice Circles of Sage, PLLC, find her on instagram @theherbal_fnp, on her website www.earthstrongcenter.com or email her at circlesofsageny@gmail.com.
Trista Haggerty
Co-founder and director of the Earth Mentoring Institute, Trista has spent the past 28 years studying initiation and ancient rites of passage. She specializes in working with groups and individuals supporting them to develop inner awareness and a whole human experience. She is the founder of The Living Grail School of Healing and Magic where she offers online programs based in the western mystery tradition . She offers both residential retreats at Hawk Circle and online programs. Trista is also the founder of Sacred Mountain Tours where she guides people to sacred sites throughout the world.
Trista is a certified aromatherapist and herbalist. Her work with essential oils, shamanism and energy medicine provides her clients and students with a profound healing experience.
She is also a mother of three, avid gardener, knitter and enjoys tending to her animals. For more information on Trista's work, visit her website at tristahaggerty.
Her class at the conference this year, The Dark Mother; Weaving Ancient Magic into the New Earth Paradigm will explore the role of the Dark Mother as a potent archetypal figure instrumental in re-shaping our lives as overseer of transformation and the Underworld.
Schedule Snapshot
Registration & Pricing
This is our Early Bird Pricing for the Conference. After July 2, 2026 the price will increase by $75 for the adult ticket fee. Email us at info@plantcunning.com to inquire about Volunteering and Scholarships if the cost is an issue. We want you here!
I'll Take it All
$435 Early Bird / $510 At Door
Everything included- ticket, camping, meal plan- from Thursday evening camp set up to Sunday closing, the tea bar, all sessions and activities, and even the nourishing meal plan of 6 meals throughout the conference.
Adult Ticket Price
$325 Earl Bird / $400 At Door
This is the standalone ticket price of the conference which includes all sessions Friday through Sunday, the live music show Saturday, and access to the tea bar all weekend. You can bring your own snacks and meals and commute or find your own local lodging.
Young Adults Age 12-18
$75 Early Bird / $110 At Door
Young Adults from 13-18 can come for a reduced rate of $75 at the Early Bird Rate.
You'll may order a meal plan if you want one for a total of $150 for the Early Bird Rate.
Children under 12 and younger are free to attend, though you may wish to purchase a meal plan ticket for them.
Meal Plan Add-on
$85
Six nourishing mostly local and organic foods prepared for different dietary preferences (Vegan, GF, Nut Free with options for meat & wheat eaters too). Friday dinner, Saturday Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Sunday Breakfast & Lunch Included. Tea bar will be open all weekend and accoutrements bar available for toppings to each delicious meal.
Scholarship & Reduced Rate Tickets
$85-$185
For anyone who is experiencing financial hardship we offer a Reduced Rate Ticket for $185 and limited amount of Scholarship Tickets for $85. Both include camping and meal plan. To apply for a scholarship just email us at info@plantcunning.com. No One Turned Away for Lack of Funds (NOTAFLOF).
Camping Add-on
$25
Access to grounds Thursday night to set up camp and stay in your tent or vehicle for the weekend. Each adult camping should get a camping pass. Families camping with kids under 18 don’t have to get a pass for each kid, just the adults. We have water fill up, portapotties on site, a camp shower, and plenty of shady wooded spots or field spots.
Volunteer / Work Trade
$85
Join the Work-Trade Crew
One of the most enriching ways to be at the Plant Cunning Conference is to join the crew making it all happen. We ask for up to 8 hours of your time over the weekend. If you're interested in being a part of the Work-Trade/Volunteer Team please email us at info@plantcunning.com. You will still be able to attend many of the sessions. This includes the meal plan and camping.
Saturday Only Ticket
$175
Includes Saturday Lunch, Dinner, & Music. This ticket is for locals or folks who can only make it for a day trip. Join us on Saturday morning starting at 9:30am. Enjoy the the workshops, lectures and plant walks all day, as well as the music. Your lunch and dinner will be included in this ticket (not breakfast).
Camping is not included.
Vending Add On
$25
Join the robust vendor area to share your talents and products with our beloved attendees! Each vendor & any assistants will need to purchase their own ticket & meal plan. In the vendor application you can upload some pictures, logos, and give us a description of your offerings so we can spread the word about you. We've lowered our vending fee this year and have a limited amount of reduced rate tickets available for vendors. Apply Here
Gather in our big red barn with herbalists, farmers, astrologers, artists, musicians, community leaders to learn about the magic of plants and to deepen our connection with nature and each other.
About the Land
Cohosh Creek Herb Farm and Sanctuary is nested in the beautiful rolling hills of Central New York, high on the Allegheny Plataea on the lands of the Oneida Peoples of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. We are honored and in awe of this place's magic and abundance and know that it has been and continues to be stewarded by both humans and the spirits of place with care and dedication.
There’s a large barn & event tent for us to have sessions in. There are lovely herb gardens, young orchards and woods to explore. The vendor area is overlooking a beautiful valley and the Tillette Creek (pronounced crick of course).
We hope our guests will be able to make a long weekend of this conference to truly drop-in to the land and benefit from the peaceful beauty and healing it offers.
Cohosh Creek Herb Farm
415 County Rd 41
South Edmeston, NY
